Tuesday, July 6, 2010

Fourth of July Fun!

Admittedly, I'm not a very patriotic person. But I do love grilling out and watching fireworks, so I happily celebrate Fourth of July every year. This year, my friend Greg and I wanted to grill like we did last year. But my old charcoal grill has seen its last veggie burger. It's all rusty now and destined for the dump. So I borrowed by mom's indoor grill and set it up outside. Here it is loaded up with Amy's Quarter Pounder veggie burgers and some local squash and zucchini:

We basted the burgers with BBQ sauce and enjoyed them with barbecue chips:

I washed mine down with Sam Adam's Summer Ale, a light lemon-y brew:

For dessert, I made a Blackberry Cobbler (from my cookbook) using local blackberries hand-picked by my friend Aaron:

After dinner, it was fireworks time! We loaded up on explosives from wrestler Jerry "The King" Lawler's fireworks stand in West Memphis, Arkansas (they don't sell fireworks in Memphis city limits). I found this kitschy Exploding Osama Bin Laden Noggin:

I'm totally against the wars in the Middle East and all, and I certainly don't condone real violence. But I bought the Osama head for pure kitsch value. It seemed super-white trash and funny.

We actually caught the city's lame-ass fireworks show on Beale Street, but we started a small show at the house before dark. My inner child was way excited about these black snakes:

And Greg pretended to be just as enthused:

Later, after the city fireworks, we found a vacant parking lot in Midtown and shot off lots more sparkly fun.

13 comments:

I understand being opposed to the war in the MIddle East - I am too. But you're opposed to the capture and possible destruction of Osama Bin Laden? I could see the smoke of the burning towers from my house for days after 9/11. There's nothing kitschy about it. I get not being very patriotic and not agreeing with the war (which aren't necessarily one and the same) but being opposed to the capture of a man who caused the deaths of so many American civilians? Really?

I usually don't go on political tirades, especially not those defending violence, but having grown up in NJ causes a certain something to go off in my head when somebody says something about Osama implying that we should leave him alone. You don't need to have been near NY to understand the horrors of 9/11 for more than just kitsch-value.

I used to get in trouble for those black snakes as a kid because my grandma claimed they stained the driveway. :P Now, putting a few boxes-worth of sparklers on a plate and lighting it on fire stains- it melts the plate right into the driveway. :D

Hey Jennifer! I'm not really saying we should leave Osama alone. If anything, he's really the only one we should get. But I don't think violence against him (or anyone) is the answer. I'm more in favor of locking people up. But ... the idea of an exploding Bin Laden fireworks head is kinda redneck.